The Tribune

IT has been expected – but the step to remove the travel health visa was taken yesterday, with it no longer being a requirement for travel from Sunday.

In a day of slightly mixed messaging, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper announced the end of the visa, but said that a negative COVID test would be required before entering the country. Not so, said Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville later in the day – that would only be a requirement for unvaccinated people. If you’ve been vaccinated, you’re good to go, no test required.

This is, of course, a move with mixed consequences. Economically, of course, tourism-based businesses will be delighted to see a restriction lifted – and non-tourism businesses too will feel the knock-on effects.

In terms of health, there is the concern that a reduction in screening and restrictions will see an increase in COVID cases. Across in the UK, for example, there is another new variant which has seen infections and hospitalisations rise, and as we open up, we risk making it easier for the virus to spread through our society.

Finding the right balance between what is fair for the economy and what is safe for people’s health is no easy task, but once the US announced it was going to stop its requirement for COVID testing before travel into the US, it seemed inevitable that we would follow.

That’s a change since the early days of COVID. Back then, under the Minnis administration, The Bahamas shut down fast to limit the spread of the virus. Internationally, there were plaudits for the Bahamian government for being ahead of others on its response to the virus, rather than following in the footsteps of other nations.

This time, we seem to be doing the same as the US. Will that be the right move? We’ll find out as we watch the daily dashboard with the number of new cases.

The key thing to watch will be how well our hospitals are able to cope with the number of cases – overwhelming our healthcare staff will be the last thing any of us need, not least of all the frontline staff.

The health of the economy is obviously to the front of the minds of leading members of government. Mr Cooper said yesterday: “We must reduce the friction as we ramp up for the summer months and, therefore, I am pleased to announce that the Cabinet of The Bahamas has approved the elimination of the travel health visa.”

He said we had to “get the numbers that we need for our tourism product and economy.”

So what does that mean for our health?

Well, we should not stop the personal measures we can take, such as masks and social distancing. That can help slow down any new rise in case numbers.

And perhaps there might be a side benefit of this decision – the testing requirement is only in place for unvaccinated travellers. Perhaps this will encourage some of those who have not yet been vaccinated to go and get the jab. Maybe this will be the incentive they have been waiting for.

And there’s more good news as well, with vaccinations for children now in the country, allowing younger Bahamians to also get the protection they need against the virus.

The move to remove the travel restrictions is a tough call, though – and we hope it is the right one. We have lost too many of our Bahamian brothers and sisters already to this deadly pandemic – and we do not want to lose any more.